TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Preparation for a phone screen interview From:"Sean Brierley" <sbri -at- haestad -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 6 Jan 2003 16:29:22 -0500
Maybe. I thought about that.
But, in an interview, don't both sides have an obligation to be honest?
I mean, let's say the potential employer talks of being family-oriented,
but permits only 4 holidays a year, 2 week's vacation a year, and
excludes children from company parties or picnics, and the like. Let's
say the company has an extreme culture of unpaid overtime.
Let's say during the interview you are told that the company is
family-oriented and the interviewers back all of that up.
Now, an employee handbook might help out with that, but let's say there
are none available, all are out to print, etc.
So, you quit your job, take the new job, and then find out after working
at the new gig.
I agree the above is a little over-the-top, but my point is that isn't
an interview the time for you to find out about the potential employer,
also? And, how do you do that if you avoid such questions?
I agree that such a question might rule you out of the job, but I
suggest that such a filter might be a good thing.
-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Byfield [mailto:bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com]
Greg T wrote:
> I forgot to add a question I asked the manager:
>
> How long had they been at the company, did they like it, and what did
they
> see as challenges working there?
On the whole, I try to avoid questions like this in the first interview,
unless something has suggested to me that the company is less than ideal
for me.
A question like this puts interviewers on the spot. They're essentially
representing their companies to someone who might be part of the
company, and a negative answer might come back to haunt them. Yet, if
they are bothered by something in the company - even momentarily - they
may feel compelled to be honest with you.
I figure that, in this dilemma, the interviewer might very well respond
to the conflict raised by this sort of question by resenting and
eliminating the interviewee.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Order RoboHelp X3 today and receive a $100 mail in rebate and a FREE
WebHelp Merge Module for merging multiple Help systems on any desktop
or server. Order online today at http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
A new book on Single Sourcing has been released by William Andrew
Publishing: _Single Sourcing: Building Modular Documentation_
is now available at: http://www.williamandrew.com/titles/1491.html.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
